Tommy Johnson joins Blackpool as head of recruitment

The former Celtic striker opted for Bloomfield Road over Southend.

Tommy Johnson has joined Blackpool’s recruitment staff in a move which led to the collapse last week of Southend’s bid to appoint Henrik Larsson as manager.

Larsson had agreed terms on a move to Roots Hall, with former Celtic team-mates Johan Mjallby and Johnson to be appointed as assistant manager and head of recruitment respectively.

The deal fell through with the club revealing Johnson had “accepted an alternative offer”, with the Southend job ultimately going to former England defender Sol Campbell.

That alternative offer has now been confirmed, with Johnson taking the equivalent role at Blackpool in a reshuffle that also saw Jonathan Gibson appointed head of technical scouting.

Blackpool owner Simon Sadler said on the club website: “I am pleased to welcome both Tommy and Jonathan to the club in what are very defined recruitment and scouting roles.

“From the outset, I have made clear that I want this to be a modern, progressive football club and I believe these appointments will form a structured recruitment setup that will support the manager and enable us to identify, monitor and sign players for the long term.”

Gibson previously spent 10 years in recruitment or analysis roles with West Brom.